But between all the invoicing and contracts that you manage for your various shoots, it’s easy to feel like you spend a majority of your day managing those tedious details! So how do you keep your desk and brain clear of the clutter from this pile of paperwork? Here are three tips for streamlining your workload, so you can get out from behind your desk, and back behind the camera.

I. Put everything online.

Contracts and invoices can all be done through online systems or services, making it quick and easy for your client to sign and return things to you. Plus, down the road, it’s easy to find all the contracts and invoices under each client’s online folder!

II. Automate as much as possible.

Invoices should be sent out automatically online through your studio management software. If clients pay by credit card, you

Are you one of the thousands of photographers out there who’s talented enough to go pro, but still need a few more clients or pieces of equipment to make the leap? It might sound counterintuitive, but I believe teaching photography ticks both boxes brilliantly.

Here are 7 reasons why teaching photography will boost your business, and help you go pro!

1. Your students can become your brides and grooms.
If you’re teaching photography, sharing your knowledge openly, your students might actually become your best clients. For example, what if one of your students is a twenty-something in your city, who gets engaged six months after taking one of your classes or workshops? Who do you think she’ll call when she starts thinking about a wedding photographer? And the same principle applies to parents who might want family portraits or baby photos.

Photography lessons are like a sales session. The student gets to witness firsthand

One of the biggest drains on a photographer’s time is the back-and-forth correspondence that happens with clients.
There is just so much information that has to be collected and then managed – event details, invoicing, contract, album orders, and beyond.

That’s why it’s important to have strategies in place for efficiently managing this information. You need to be able to easily find what you’re looking for and minimize the amount of back-and-forth with clients.

I. Consolidate as much as possible using forms and questionnaires.

Email is a necessary but time-consuming (and annoying at times!) part of running a business, but if you make it more manageable, you’ll have more time to spend on other profitable activities. With all the information that has to be organized, it could mean a lot of emails. Or you could find a better way. Create a handful of forms or questionnaires that are used to gather most of the

Before finding ShootQ, Sara France was drowning in spreadsheets to track tasks, and wanted workflows that enabled her – and her team – to stay organized without passing bulky files back and forth.

Now that she has ShootQ, she’s able to automate almost everything!

Her studio’s workflows are automated. Everything from invoices, emails, to new lead generation is automated and cloud-based.

According to Sara, “I didn’t want to do that work and needed to focus on growing my business. It’s much more efficient and takes less time. I don’t know how anyone has a studio without this program.”

In this case study, we’ll take a look at Sara France’s business and explore the ways that:

• In order to focus on growing your business, it’s important to have a solid management solution in place
• Taking the time upfront saves countless hours over the long haul
• Cloud-based services allow photographers to access key

Last month, many of you participated in our contest called “Your Best Shot of the Summer.” The theme encouraged you to share your most compelling, inspiring and fun shots from your summer season. Wow, we were amazed by the incredible images that you shared!

Tennessee-based photographer Robyn McIsaac won the contest with her heartfelt image entitled “Little Miss America.” For her creativity and efforts, Robyn won some sweet ShootQ prizes! But more important, she won the hearts of many viewers who saw her winning image.

Since ALL of your images inspired us – and your friends and families – we wanted to encourage even more discussion and sharing. So, we’ve created this blog post for you!

Have you ever had a sales lead fall through the cracks? Maybe a bride emailed you about her wedding, but her email got pushed down so far in your rapidly-filling inbox that you totally forgot to reply to her? We all know this feeling; it’s frustrating for you AND your prospective clients!

Losing track of leads can cost your business – big time. You may lose jobs when you don’t respond quickly to leads, or when you simply forget to follow up. How can you ensure that you’re keeping tabs on your leads, so you can turn them into paying clients?

I. Centralize your notes

When you get a new lead, enter it into some kind of system (ShootQ, Excel, etc.) ShootQ is ideal because it checks for date conflicts and automatically fills out all the fields for you and creates a contact card for that person.

Anne’s search for a solution that would streamline her growing photography business led her to ShootQ. Because of ShootQ, Anne has been able to set up a faster booking process, better contract management, and streamlined business operations.

In this case study we’ll explore:

• Why early investments in your business do make a difference.
• How keeping track of your business in one place, with access from anywhere, streamlines operations.
• Why it’s important to find the best solution to manage a thriving photography business.
• How to quantify the savings ShootQ provides.

I believe every woman is beautiful and should have images that showcase her beauty. It’s all about finding an artist who can pose them and photograph them in the most flattering ways. Most women have dreamed of being a glamorous movie star, or even a magazine centerfold. But what are we all waiting for? Maybe until that moment when we feel like we’ll look in the mirror and say, “I am beautiful!” Stop waiting. We are beautiful NOW.

Today, we’re inundated with images of beautiful women – in magazines, on TV, and in print campaigns. Everywhere we turn, we see “sexy” photos. And these images often lead to negative body image issues, and make us believe that we cannot be as beautiful as the ads we’re seeing. This is simply false.

I’m pretty sure that all women have aspects of their body that they’re not 100% comfortable with, and maybe even wish